I Don't Like That Preacher

Every Thursday afternoon, you can find me at a little dance studio.  I'm there because my six-year-old daughter is a student at this particular studio.  I like it because it's small, clean, and has comfortable seating in the waiting room.  I usually have a book open in my lap, and, despite the noise, I can get a little bit of reading done.  I try to use my time wisely.  So it's me, a few mothers, a couple of grandmothers, and a few young children waiting for the class to end.  Two of the girls spend their time playing, screaming, and generally entertaining everyone else in the room.  These same two girls like to play a game with me.  This game is called "Every time the boy looks at us, let's run, scream, and hide from him!"  It's a great game.  The other day, while playing this game, I suppose they got really loud--loud enough for the dance teacher (the mother of one of the girls) to come out of her class to see what was going on.  Then the conversation went like this.

Mom:  What are you doing?
Girl:  We're hiding from that boy!
Mom:  (looks around the room)  What boy?
Girl:  (points at me)  That boy!
Mom:  He's not a boy.  He's a man.  And you better behave because he's a preacher.
Girl:  But I don't like that preacher!

Now at this point the mom is mortified.  Smiling through it all, I said, "It's ok.  She's not the only one."  Now others enter the into the discussion.

Grandmother #1:  Well, at least she's straightforward with you unlike others would be.
Grandmother #2:  I didn't know you were a preacher!  You can't please everybody.  I get so tired of hearing people complain about the pastor over the stupidest things.  (she gives a few examples of the stupid things people complain about)  Who cares?!

One example she gave was this.  Some people who sit in front of her at church used to complain about a previous pastor because he would talk about his wife (in a good way) during the sermon.  Her response, "They ought to be glad he talks about his wife and not somebody else's wife!"

January Reading

1. C. S. Lewis Through the Shadowlands - Brian Sibley

2. Chivalry - Zach Hunter

3. The Ballad of the White Horse - G. K. Chesterton

4. The Horse and His Boy - C. S. Lewis

5. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Thorne

6. King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table - Roger Lancelyn Green

7. To Live Is Christ To Die Is Gain - Matt Chandler & Jared C. Wilson

8. Understanding Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings - William Ready

9. The Pastor as Scholar & The Scholar as Pastor - John Piper & D. A. Carson

10. Quest for Celestia - Steven James

11. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C. S. Lewis

12. The Screwtape Letters - C. S. Lewis

December Reading

• An Experiment in Criticism - C. S. Lewis
• A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
• The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence
• Clive Staples Lewis: A Dramatic Life - William Griffin
• The Southern Poets - William Lander Weber
• The Chimes - Charles Dickens
• Glorifying God: A Yearlong Collection of Classical Devotional Writings - Thomas Watson
• Holy Bible: English Standard Version
• A Severe Mercy - Sheldon Vanauken
• The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
• That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis
• Walking with Bilbo - Sarah Arthur
• Diary of a Jackwagon - Tim Hawkins
• C. S. Lewis, My Godfather: Letters, Photos and Recollections - Laurence Harwood

Top 20 Books Read for 2016

I should make two clarifications.  First, this is not a list of books written in 2016.  This will be obvious to most.  Second, the title of this post is greatly misleading because I have excluded all books written by C. S. Lewis and all books about C. S. Lewis that I read this year.  Just click on the links to see those posts.  OK, I should also admit that my number one book for this year is connected with C. S. Lewis.
Also, there is one particular and unique book that I do not include in a list such as this, and that is because it belongs on a plane of its own--the Bible.  If you read nothing else, read the Bible.  Read the Bible before you read anything else.  This year (as is my habit of some years now) I read through the Bible.  I chose the English Standard Version.  I try to select a different English translation to read through each year.
One other thing of note.  The final count of books read this year is 143.  This is the most I've read in a single year, and this list comes from those 143 books.
Without further ado, here is my list.

1. A Severe Mercy - Sheldon Vanauken
2. The Two Towers - J. R. R. Tolkien
3. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
4. Tremendous Trifles - G. K. Chesterton
5. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
6. Reading Between the Lines - Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
7. The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene
8. The Princess and Curdie - George MacDonald
9. The Warden - Anthony Trollope
10. Dracula - Bram Stoker
11. The Quotable Chesterton - Kevin Belmonte
12. Tolkien's Ordinary Virtues - Mark Eddy Smith
13. At Home in Mitford - Jan Karon
14. Murder in the Cathedral - T. S. Eliot
15. Pymalion - George Bernard Shaw
16. Bunnicula - Deborah and James Howe
17. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
18. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Jessie L. Weston
19. The Book of the Duchess - Geoffrey Chaucer
20. Electra - Sophocles

Dealing with Depression

When Mr. Toad was down and depressed in prison, the jailer's daughter had pity on him and sought to take care of him.  Having procured her father's permission (which is always a good idea), she knew exactly how to revive Toad's spirit--feed him.
Following a mighty victory on Mount Carmel, Elijah ran fearing Jezebel's wrath.  He had been high on the mountain top.  Now he was passing through the valley of the shadow of death.  In fact, he laid down hoping to die.  God could have taken his life, but He had something else in mind--He fed him.  Then he fed him again and gave him a fresh vision and reason for living.  Elijah's spirit was revived, and he went on to serve the Lord faithfully.
When King Saul was campaigning against the Philistines, part of his strategy was to not allow his soldiers to eat until they accomplished something.  Spirits were low.  Prince Jonathan, not aware of Saul's command, allowed his men to eat, and they rallied to victory.
Look, I'm not a doctor, and the advice I'm about to give certainly doesn't solve all types of depression.  However, there is a kind of depression that can be overcome in the simplest of ways--by having something good to eat.  Most of the time when we are down and out, we don't feel like eating.  However, that may just do the trick.  If I may add to that, don't eat alone.  We are made for companionship.  Find a good friend, and enjoy the company that you thought you didn't need.

Recommended Reading
1 Samuel 14
1 Kings 19
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham

Trains, Trains, Trains

Every day is a new day.
Every day is a venture.
One thing is for certain, I say,
Adventure will be the future.

On the way to dropping off the kids at school this morning, we were held up by a train at around 7:45 in Pinehurst, Georgia.  The train was moving.  This usually doesn't take long.  But I also noticed that it seemed to be slowing down.  Well, it was raining at this point.   Makes sense for the train to slow down.  But then it completely stopped, blocking the road.  I thought, no big deal, I'll just go down to the other road to get to the school.  Nope, that way was blocked, too.  I also noticed at this point that the van was nearly empty.  It was warning me that there was only 22 miles to empty.  So I go back to the gas station that's nearby, thinking that when I get back the train will surely be gone.  I get the gas, come back, and the train is still there.  By this time, cars were everywhere.  Finally, at around 8:20, the train started moving again, but very slowly.  This must have been the longest train in the world.  Finally it gets by us, and we can get on to the school.  I drop the girls off, get back on the road I came from, and guess what.  Another train!  Moving slowly!  No, not again!  By the way, I'm trying at this point to get my son to the babysitter.  That train finally clears.  We drive down the interstate, get off at the first Vienna exit, get in town, and what do I see?  Crossing bars and lights flashing at the track.  Ahh!  This is the second train again.  I beat it to Vienna, only to be held up again.  That train gets by, I get Malachi almost to the sitter's house, and like running into a wall of water, it begins pouring rain. It's been a fun day so far!  Is that a train whistle I hear in the distance?...

Top Ten Books About C. S. Lewis

There are many books dealing with C. S. Lewis and his writings.  There are many good ones.  There are even some that are not so good, but they are few and far between.  This top ten list is compiled from the books that I have read only in 2016.  Some excellent ones not on this list I have already read (Devin Brown, Donald Williams, Colin Duriez, etc.), and I highly recommend them.  Others I still plan on reading (Alister McGrath, Michael Ward, etc.).
These have been a blessing to me, and I hope you read them, too!

1. Jack: C. S. Lewis and His Times - George Sayer
2. Jack's Life: The Life Story of C. S. Lewis - Douglas Gresham
3. Clive Staples Lewis: A Dramatic Life - William Griffin
4. Past Watchful Dragons - Walter Hooper
5. The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis - Alan Jacobs
6. The Soul of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Gene E. Keith, Jr.
7. If I Had Lunch with C. S. Lewis - Alister McGrath
8. On the Shoulders of Hobbits - Louis Markos
9. C. S. Lewis & Mere Christianity: The Crisis that Created a Classic - Paul McCusker
10. Aslan's Call: Finding Our Way to Narnia - Mark Eddy Smith

Post Script - I should add one more as an honorable mention.  I read this one after I compiled my list.

               C. S. Lewis, My Godfather: Letters, Photos and Recollections - Laurence Harwood

Top Twenty Books by C. S. Lewis Read This Year

A good portion of the 132 books I've read this year have been by C. S. Lewis, so I decided to do a list dedicated just to those.  Of course, who can really rank Lewis' books?  But everyone has his or her favorites.  Here is how I decided to do this one: I will rank each book according to how much I enjoyed reading it.  Certainly, I would recommend all of them.

1. Mere Christianity
2. The Great Divorce
3. Surprised by Joy
4. Out of the Silent Planet
5. Of Other Worlds: Essays & Stories
6. Miracles
7. Letters to an American Lady
8. An Experiment in Criticism
9. The Abolition of Man
10. Perelandra
11. Reflections on the Psalms
12. A Preface to Paradise Lost
13. That Hideous Strength
14. The Screwtape Letters
15. Till We Have Faces
16. Narrative Poems
17. The Problem of Pain
18. Christian Reflections
19. Letters to Children
20. A Grief Observed

Top Seven Books for Pastors

I read over 130 books this year.  Of those, a good portion were about Christian ministry in particular, or Christian living in general.  Here's a list of seven of those that I would definitely recommend.  Of course, this list is not limited to pastors.  All Christians would benefit from reading these books.  Blessings!











7.  Lessons from the Ladder - Neil Joiner
6.  Jesus Swagger: Break Free from Poser Christianity - Jarrid Wilson
5.  The Power of Positive Praying - John Bisagno
4.  Pastors in the Classics - Leland Ryken, Philip Ryken, and Todd Wilson
3.  The Book on Leadership - John MacArthur
2.  Who Moved My Pulpit? - Thom S. Rainer
1.  Praying the Bible - Donald S. Whitney

November Reading

• The Preaching Event - John R. Claypool
• C. S. Lewis on Faith - Lesley Walmsley
• The Abolition of Man - C. S. Lewis
• Tremendous Trifles - G. K. Chesterton
• Thoroughly Married - Dennis Guernsey
• Christian Reflections - C. S. Lewis
• Past Watchful Dragons - Walter Hooper
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Jessie L. Weston
• The Great Divorce - C. S. Lewis
• Sonnets from the Portuguese - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
• Reflections on the Psalms - C. S. Lewis
• Shakespeare on Leadership - Frederick Talbott
• Who Moved My Pulpit? - Thom S. Rainer